Fallen from hell
by SubparHoot
Summary: "They're probably still fightin', up there in the Isles. Probably didn't even notice a chunk of each militia went missing with the downing of the plate." The sniper chuckled, less out of mirth and more out of a strange childish excitement."If only they knew."
1. Prologue

Hope.

Hope was cruel; a ray of sunlight, ever beyond your reach. You could chase it and briefly transcend the landscape around you, but soon enough, that small gap in the clouds would close and you would be drug back down to the muddy trenches. The sound of gunfire would once again resonate in your ears, and the skittering of the rats would be readily apparent. The drones of the planes above would mirror the monotonous, constant fear.

The ray of sunshine would be gone now, little more than a fleeting memory. But, ironically, it was those glimmers of sunlight that would give us hope - the promise of a tomorrow free from the nightmare of today was more than enough. The isles of the Battlefield may not soon see a day bereft of war. But, deep down, we all strive for one thing.

One day, the sounds of gunfire, the drone of the planes, and the skittering of the rats will fade away. The clouds will open, and as rays of sunshine radiate from above, each of us, in our own way, will chase it. Together we will reach it and together we will revel in it.

Hope.


	2. A Catalyst

_"Take the shot."_

 _Link reached up, and with a trembling hand, pushed his dirty blond hair out of his eyes._

 _"Link. Take it. That boy is holding enough red potion concentrate to make a Dodongo high."_

 _"I... I..." Link was choking now, tears threatening to cloud his vision._

 _"Link. Take it, soldier."_

 _Shaking violently, the sniper raised the rifle, slippery with sweat, to his eye._

 _"Link."_

 _It would be so easy. With a pull of the trigger, the child would collapse, and his mission would be complete. Link forced himself to shakily breathe. The crosshairs were lined up. His finger was on the trigger._

"Link. Wake up sir, dammit."

Link opened his eyes, still bleary from sleep, and silently cursed. _No matter how many years of combat I go through, I still can't buck the habit of oversleeping._

"What's going on?" Link cracked his neck, his back sore from a night sleeping against the side of the trench. He noted, with annoyance, that the nights drizzle had still not let up.

"They're moving," came the no-nonsense voice of Lucina, lowering her binoculars. Link froze mid-stretch.

"What? No, that's insane. The Green Hills are an invaluable strategic location. Why leave?"

Lucina sighed, pinching the bridge of her nose with one hand and giving Link the binoculars with the other. "Look, sir, I wish I had all the answers. But the fact of the matter is, the only info I have is that they are currently heading inland."

She was right. Through the binoculars he could tell; the infantry regiment they had been monitoring for the past week was mobilizing, and inland - to the left of Link and Lucina - to boot.

Link frowned."It just doesn't make sense," he muttered to himself. "It's too early for relief, and they're going entirely in the wrong direction for an offensive."

Vaguely to his left Link noticed the grumblings of his squad mate - but much more alarming was the progress of the infantry across the field. The major, a post reserved generally for those of a calm nature, was becoming increasingly frantic, nervously pacing and checking his pocket watch every few seconds.

"Y'know, I always thought that one a' these days I'd be waking up with you, private." The voice of Link's cocky commanding officer sounded almost as smug as Lucinas reply was cold.

"Please, sir, keep it professional. We are in a literal warzone."

"Show some respect to your captain. You won't regret it in b-"

"With all due respect, _captain_ , you're nothing more than a sergeant. I have respect for you on a professional level, but as a person, I despise you."

Falcon ground his teeth, frustrated. "Whatever, you're ugly anyways." Not interested in pursuing a lost arguement, he sauntered over to Link and grabbed the binoculars out of the sniper's hands. "Sorry Keebler, but it's time for someone capable to take charge."

Link silently stepped backwards, picked up his rifle, and holstered it. As Lucina had so aptly proven, maintaining a stoic attitude was the best way to avoid a conflict with Falcon. "Well then. What do you suggest we do?"

Falcon took on a slightly more serious tone. "Well, it's not like we can follow- at this point, they're maybe a 5 minute march from the established border and the beginning of their territory. All we can really do is watch and file a report."

"Fair enough."

Lucina and Falcon promptly removed binoculars from their standard - issue satchels and began to watch the events occur below.

The regiments were in a full blown panic by this stage. Through the cold glass of the binoculars, the three scouts could almost taste the palpable tension.

"But, even beyond the fact that they're giving up a strategic location, why hurry?" Lucina lowered her binoculars for a second to clean the lenses of the ever- persistent moisture. "To my knowledge, there's no pressure on them by an-"

 **Bang**.

Lucina quickly raised her binoculars back up to eye level and, in shock, witnessed what had just happened. Some sort of explosion had occurred, almost in the middle of the fully sprinting regiment. Judging by how loud it was, the nearby blackened fields and flattened trees, and the amount of now dead soldiers nearby it was quite a strong one.

"The hell wazzat?" Falcon encapsulated the squads feelings in a single phrase.

"I'm not sure; some s-"

 **Bang**.Two more, synchronized, on either side of the explosion to the the enemy regiments left and right. They were also more visible- dirt, and bodies, flung into the air.

"What the fuc-"

 **Bang**. Another two, on either side of the first three. A pattern was emerging.

 **Bang**. More.

They came at greater and greater frequencies, working their way in either direction, extending past the field, past the scouts, to the distance - then stopped, presumably at the sky isles edges, almost like _\- no. It couldn't be._

Link frantically dropped to to the trench floor, manically scraping away the mud, all thoughts of the decimated regiment lost in panic.

"What are you doin'?" Came Falcons confused reaction.

"The runes!" Link gasped, not looking up.

"What about the runes?"

"The runes are the only damn thing keeping this big hunk of rock in the air!" A second passed before the 'captain' understood and was digging too, a cold veil of trepidation encircling his heart. Lucina was already digging, inwardly just as terrified.

Soon enough, a weakly flickering blue light shone out from underneath the grit.

"No, no, no!" Falcon punched the ground in anger, as if it would bring energy back to the ancient sigils.

Link was silent, gripping his rifle so hard it hurt.

Lucina drew a shaky breath. "It- it's not possible." She drew her legs beneath her and rested her head against the trench. "It goes against every law in the code. They mean to blow us off the islands forever."

"They already have," came Links voice. Lucina quickly turned back to the field. A rift was forming, right on the line of the explosions. Already the peculiar feeling of falling was beginning to settle on the trio.

Falcon chuckled darkly. "We're all gonna die."


	3. The wolf within

A grim silence enveloped the three scouts, shivering against the rain. The weak glow of the flickering runes mirrored their quickly fading hope.

"Could we still...?"

"No. We've already sunk too far. I'm surprised the runes of maybe 5 square miles could hold anything up."

They lapsed back into silence.

"Wait..." Lucina exclaimed with an air of puzzlement. What?"

"I said," Link sighed, "That it's surprising that-"

"Nonono- what's that ?" Lucina eagerly pointed East, away from the rift, towards a hulking shape, gliding over the fields.

Behind the two, Falcon shot up. "An airship!" The three shot looks at each other before vaulting the trench wall and sprinting for the fields.

The field seemed endless, an unrelenting stretch of rain soaked green created to torment Link. The airship never seemed to get any closer - only move towards the rift. He grit his teeth and continued on, feet pounding against the spongy ground. Sheets of rain poured from above, pushing him back. _Keep_ _going_ , he told himself. _But it's so far away_ , said another voice. _Just go_.

The hills seemed to blend together, an endless green expanse. Just stop. You'll never get there. Just a little nap... His resolve wavering, he closed his eyes for one second.

He felt the slick mud under his feet disappear and promptly reappear at his back, the wet substance doing nothing to help his already soaked uniform. Vaguely he noticed Lucina slide to a stop in front of him, and turn to help him up. Falcon slid to a stop too, but for different reason.

"Hey!" Falcon raggedly screamed into the air.

Link looked up- sure enough, the shadow of the airship had surrounded them.

"Help!" Lucina couldn't seem to muster the energy for a more detailed plea. With a click, a single rope ladder tumbled from the side of the gondola.

"Ladies first," gasped Falcon, gesturing to the ladder while leaning on his knees. Lucina shot him a livid glare but wasted no time in scaling it. Falcon followed, with Link behind.

Link could barely feel the rungs of the ladder. His hands, numb from the rain, had a difficult time supporting him on the swinging ladder. By the time he reached the halfway mark, he saw a Lucina hauling herself over the gondola edge, refusing the help of a crewman.

Directly above him, Falcon began to push himself over the lip when a voice, almost lost in the freezing wind, rang out. "We can only support one mo..."

"What?" Was Falcons reply, his arms wrapped around the gondola lip and his feet still resting on the wildly swinging ladder.

"We can only support one more person!"

Only a few rungs below Falcon, Link began to formulate a response. "Please, I'm beggi-" Link's plea was rudely interrupted by a flash of pain - Falcons boot. The pure shock of the attack caused Link to lose his grip. The figure of the airship seemed to recede in slow motion, becoming farther and farther away. He heard Lucina's scream, and felt the ground welcome him with open arms.

Then the cold. It enveloped him, beckoned to him. His eyes closed. He could just... sleep...

 _ **Really, brother? I thought you were strong**_ _._

 _No... You're not real._

 _ **But you weren't strong enough to protect our parents**_.

 _There was nothing I could have done._

 _ **You couldn't even protect me.**_

 _Heh. You never would allow me to sleep in._

Through sheer force of will, Link pushed his eyes open. The airship was still there. Falcon turned away from Link, and back to the deck- straight into the barrel of a rifle. A bang. Falcon limply fell from the ladder, a scarlet ribbon trailing his forehead. There was a meaty splash as he hit the mud, unmoving.

 _Strong_. Link forced himself off the ground and to the ladder, blocking the searing pain from his mind.

 _Strong_. He relished the feeling of rough wood beneath his numb fingers, the only thing between him and certain death.

 _Strong_. An inhuman growl rose in his throat as he clawed his way up the ladder, rung by slippery, shaking rung.

He was strong, dammit. And the strong survive.

The cocky - looking soldiers' head disappeared from view. Red sighed, clicking on his rifles safety and holstering it, as per military code. He turned back to the semi - crowd of soldiers. The fragile silence shattered, and a wall of sound bombarded him.

"What the hell?! We could have worked something out, brought up them both!" Lucina shouted, trembling.

"Guys?" A man with short black hair interjected. He was ignored.

"I don't like bullies," was Red's terse reply.

"Well that hardly matters now, does it!?"

"Guys!" The man pointed to the lip with a shaking finger.

"What?!" Lucina yelled back, before following his pointed finger. She gasped.

A hand, shaking and white, grasped the gondola lip. Slowly, laboredly, a body pulled itself over the edge. His nose was gushing blood. Blonde hair was matted over his face, partially masking it. But underneath his soaked bangs, fierce blue eyes shone, animalistic and proud. Before the astonished mass Link sucked in his breath and, out of pure adrenalin, unleashed a feral scream. Instinctively, the crowd took a step back and rested their hands on their weapons. But he wasn't done. He gulped in air once again and tried to yell- but nothing came out but blood. It splattered across the deck, a crimson mural.

Link trembled once then collapsed into the gondolas soaked wood, the storm already washing away his his mark on the ship.


End file.
